She heard me talking to Finn. I wonder what else she heard. Had she heard that I had no idea she wasn’t a paid whore? I think not. Her behavior right now tells me she thinks my hiring someone to fuck is an everyday occurrence for me.

“Well, I don’t think Jessie will like me calling him sweetie, but I’ll do it if it will get you to stop crying.” I try to tease her a little, desperate for the tears still forming in her eyes to dry up.

Her mouth falls open, and I steal the opportunity to kiss her. I pour everything I feel for her into the kiss, reminding her of the day we had together. This whole situation might have been fucked up from the start by me thinking she was something she wasn’t, but the truth is I knew what she was from the moment she stepped into my office. Mine. I felt it all the way down to the bones, and the past few days have shown nothing but that. Because I’m not acting like me anymore. I’m acting like a crazy man in love, doing everything I can to be close to this woman, making sure she can never leave me, no matter the price I have to pay to make that happen…like not showing up the fundraiser I should be at tonight. It might cost me a big deal, but I don’t fucking care. I’d burn my own company to the ground right now just to get a smile from her.

Her fingers dig into my hair and she kisses me back. I press her body deeper into mine as she moves to straddle me. I know where this is going, but I have to clear the air. I don’t want any of this bullshit between us anymore.

I pull my mouth away and rest my forehead against hers, trying to get myself under control. It’s something I lack around her. I don’t know how she does it, but she does. Even when she’s not near me, she rules my every thought. I obsess over her, wondering if she's eaten, gotten enough sleep, if she is thinking about leaving me.

I let my hands run up her body, coming to rest against her throat, feeling her pulse. I didn’t know the sensation could be so erotic, so soothing.

“I’ve never done this before.” She pulls back a little to look up at me. “I thought you were…” I can’t even say the word now. I’ve thought it repeatedly. Hooker. The word drives me crazy.

Her eyes search my face. “I haven’t been with a woman in a long time,” I admit. “Never someone I worked with.”

“But—”

I cut her off. “I thought you were something you weren’t. I was going to turn you away that day in my office. I’d spent the last few years dodging women, only wanting to work, but then you walked into my office and it was like years of buried desire came flooding to the surface, demanding to be let out, demanding to have you. Everything else in my life fell away, and you filled the space, the space I didn’t even know was empty.”

The tears I was trying to stop break free as she throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around me and holding me as tight as she can as her little body shakes. I rub her back and try to calm her.

“Sweetie. Please calm down. You’ll make yourself sick. Please. I love you, little one. You’re killing me.” She sobs harder and pulls back to look at me. Her face is red and blotchy as I try to wipe the tears from her face.

“Y-you.” She stutters over her words. “You love me?”

“More than anything.” God, I hope that doesn’t fucking scare her, but it’s the truth. I do love her. That must be the answer to all these crazy things I’m feeling. It’s the only thing it can be, and I never want this feeling to go away. It makes me feel alive.

“I love you, too,” she says, a smile spreading across her face. I can feel one pull at mine, too. I feel like the weight of the world is lifted off me because now I know this fight for her won’t be as hard as I thought it might be.

“Your tears say otherwise,” I tell her, wiping yet another droplet before leaning in and kissing her cheeks.

“Happy tears. It’s all so much to take in. The past few days have been unreal. I thought I was losing it all. That I might not mean that much to you. That this thing was normal to you and you did it with all your assistants. That maybe I was seeing things that weren’t there.”

“There is no faking what we have, Kennedy. The things we shared today are real. I can promise you I’ve never felt like this or done this with anyone else. Just you, sweetie. Always you.” I reach into my pocket and pull out a little box. Her eyes widen as I open it.

“Oh my God. That can’t be…”

“It was my favorite from your drawings. I thought it was perfect for you.” The ring has a giant circular diamond in the center, surrounded by little glittering diamonds. The platinum band is studded with pink diamonds shaped like little bows.

“It’s my favorite, too. I can’t believe you got this out of my drawing book. You looked at the pictures?”

“I look at everything that has to do with you, Kennedy.” Her face lights up as I slide it on her finger. “Now tell me you’ll marry me.”

“Just because I work for you doesn’t mean you can boss me around when we’re at home.” She raises her chin a little, and fuck, I know I’m going to love these little bouts of defiance. Because I know how I’ll get her to change her mind. I slide one hand between her legs, going straight for her clit. She lets out a little moan.

“Say it,” I growl, leaning in and biting her neck. She jerks against me.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“Good girl,” I tell her, kissing the spot I bit.